The Crew is an upcoming multi-platform, single player with persistent online elements, racing game set in an open world environment (sandbox) which players are free to traverse as they see fit in a variety of vehicles. It is currently in development by two separate studios: Ivory Tower (this will be the first title that the company will develop) and Ubisoft Reflections (Driver and Just Dance series).

The game is currently being published by Ubisoft and is set to release on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. There is no solid release date for The Crew at the minute, it is however slated for release at some time during Q3 of 2014.

Development

The Crew is one of Ubisoft’s most anticipated initial next generation games alongside Watch Dogs. It’s currently in development under two separate companies: Ivory Tower and Ubisoft Reflections. Ivory Tower is a Lyon, France based studio that was founded in 2007, since then the only title under their name that they have worked on is The Crew. The team at Ivory Tower is made up of new staff as well as staff members from Eden Games, who have a track record of working almost exclusively on racing titles such as the V-rally games and the Test Drive Unlimited Series.

The company was shut down at some point in early 2013, with staff switching over to Ivory Tower. Ubisoft Reflections, who are best known for their work on the massively popular Just Dance franchise will also be playing a prominent role in development of The Crew. Ubisoft Reflections have a great deal of experience regarding vehicular gaming thanks to their long running Driver Series. One of the features to be used in The Crew is the wealth of social media options that will be offered by the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, these features will be used for “social play” and forming cooperative teams of drivers to take on various tasks and challenges offered by the game.

While the Next Generation racing scene hasn’t yet been dominated thanks to currently young age and new release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but The Crew is Ubisoft’s attempt “to make a significant dent in Need for Speed’s dominance in arcade-action racing”. With Need for Speed Rivals set to release soon under Electronic Arts and developed by Ghost Games and Criterion Games, it’s hard to tell if The Crew will arrive too late or if it will bring enough new features to out perform the current industry standard arcade racer.

Gameplay

The Crew is a single player and multi player open world sandbox racer. In the game, the player (or players) will be racing through the streets and open roads of the United States in a persistent open world setting. Given the actual scale of the US, roads have been shortened and corners cut to allow for a more accessible and believable game world. With that being said however, it will take a talented driver in The Crew at least 90 minutes to drive from coast to coast, and even the that depends on the route that the driver takes.

There is a single player campaign that will take an estimated 20 hours to complete. The missions can be played alone or with friends thanks to the social capabilities on offer from the new consoles. There are no loading screens in the game, and it will not have pause screens either, thus keeping the word live. Players with access to an iOS or Android device can build and customize their vehicles through the tie-in app for The Crew.

The game’s Creative director Julian Gerighty has been quoted as saying that the game is “definitely an RPG” with an emphasis on it’s MMO features. “You might be racing against an AI, or it might be another person,”. Furthermore, the multi player components of the game, are not entirely separate from the single player game. Ultimately though, the objective of the online play is for players and friends to form “crews” and work together to best other racers or compete for dominance in the racing world.

The Crew will feature a single player campaign that developers estimate to last around 20 hours, during this campaign the player will spend their time infiltrating various vehicular criminal organizations, for what means is yet unknown.

Cars

Beneath is a list of the currently unveiled vehicles that players will have access to in the game, there may be more vehicles made available at a later date or via DLC:

BMW Z4 sDrive35iS

Shelby GT500 1967

Mini Cooper S 2010

RUF 3400 K

Chevrolet Camaro RS 1969

Chevrolet Camaro SS 2010

Chevrolet Corvette SR1

Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan 1967

Chevrolet Silverado SS 2013

Ford Shelby GT500 2013

Ford Mustang GT 2010

Ford Focus RS 2010

Ford F150 SVT Raptor 2010

Nissan Skyline GT-R R34

Nissan 370z Z34

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Murcielago LP670-SV 2010

Lamborghini Murcielago LP-640

Lamborghini Aventador 2013

Dodge Viper SRT10 2010

Dodge Charger 1969

Dodge Charger 2012

Dodge Challenger 2013

Bentley 2012 Contintental GT

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.